Gold Tenth-Ounce 2021 Wild Mongolia - Mystic Wolf, Coin from Mongolia - detailed information

The currency of Mongolia since 1925 has been the tögrög, which currently circulates mostly as banknotes due to the low value of earlier coins and the reluctance of the government to issue large denomination coins; however, the government has authorised many non-circulating legal tender (NCLT) coins to be issued for collector's purposes.

Collector coins are dedicated to historical or general popular culture themes and are often not related to the country itself. Many of them are in internationally popular sizes, such as the one tenth of a troy ounce (1/10oz) of gold format.

The Mystic Wolf is the second design in the Wild Mongolia collection by CIT.

The mint says about it:
With the Majestic Eagle CIT launched its enhanced smartminting technology at the WMF 2020 in Berlin. It was an instant success. Now it is time to reveal the successor - the Mystic Wolf.

Mongolia has a large wolf population that numbers around 30,000. Mongolia’s sweeping landscapes and wide-open valleys are a perfect hunting environment for a wolf pack as they can cover great distances when hunting for food and can reach speeds of 85 km/h. Wolves on one hand can be graceful and peaceful looking animals while on the other hand they can be ferocious killers that inspire fear with their snarling teeth.

These two sides of the wolf are captured perfectly on these stunning coins. The reverse shows a front facing view and a side profile of a wolf in its calm state. The side profile view is struck in ultra high relief with an incredible amount of detail given to the fur and facial features. The smartminting relief extends all the way to the edge of the coin! You can tell the wolf is looking off in the distance scanning the landscape. The front facing view of the wolf is expertly struck so that it appears like the wolf is a ghosted image in the background.

Razor fine detail and relief combine together to create this effect. The obverse is awe-inspiring and shows the snarling mouth of the wolf. You can almost feel the impending attack! His teeth are struck in ultra high relief and the spaces between are inset into the surface which provides an amazing contrast. The tilted effigy is shown where the wolf’s nose is and provides yet another layer of ultra high relief. The background has a unique geometric pattern with the hidden “2021” date struck into the design.